Tuesday, 17 August 2010

Not all of us can figure out SLR cameras and their lens and moment of
expose and all that. For us photography simpletons, Olympus revealed
nine new point-and-shoot models earlier this month at CES. They'll vary
in sophistication and price, with the cheapest one coming in at $261.
The first line of cameras is the ยต-series. It'll come in five models,
each with a differing zoom, but all the same digital sensor. All four
cameras will sport a 14-megapixel sensor, while the ยต-9010 will sport
10x zoom, the ยต-7040 and ยต-7030 will support 7x zoom and the ยต-5010
will support 5x zoom.
All five models will support image stabilization and HD movie recording
&#8211; albeit at 720p. They've even included an HDMI-out port for
playing back your HD movies on a bigger screen. I don't see the point if
it's only 720p, but maybe I'm cynical. In addition to the generous 2GB
of internal memory, there is also a SD card slot on these cameras.
Olympus' press release suggests: Slip a stylish ยต out of your cocktail
bag or jacket breast pocket and prepare to impress with one of the world
s smallest zoom power packages.
At the other end of the spectrum is Olympus' FE series of cameras.
Considerably cheaper than their ยต big brothers, they have the same
14-megapixel sensor, but they cut out the HD video, HDMI port, and
on-board storage (unless you count the 18MB). The FE cameras will come
in a wide variety of colors and Olympus is keeping their operation
simple with one button &#8211; one function as a motto.
All cameras will be out in March of this year, with the ยต Series
starting at $326 and the FE Series starting at $261.